


Neither is He

by MetamorphicRocky



Series: Dadspeed [11]
Category: Final Space (Cartoon)
Genre: :), Angst, Dadspeed, Emotional Hurt, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Season 2 spoilers, Season 3 Speculation, haha this is just...pure pain, me? making people suffer? what a shock, no happy ending, y'all are gonna murder me for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 07:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21050651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetamorphicRocky/pseuds/MetamorphicRocky
Summary: "His best friend adopted his son. That's a reasonable thing to do when someone dies, but Avocato is more than alive now. Yes, he asked Gary to take care of him, and he's grateful that his friend took on that responsibility....But now? There isn't any reason why Gary should still be in that role."In other words, Avocato doesn't know how to navigate the new situation involving his relationship with his son and best friend.





	Neither is He

Ever since the Crimson Light went into Final Space, Avocato has been very confused.

Which is to be expected, seeing as how he died and then was brought back to life only to be possessed right up until he was flung into a nightmare dimension with his friends and a bunch of strangers.

Was everything explained to him? Yes, Gary and Little Cato did an..._enthusiastic_ retelling of the events. But is he still utterly lost? Oh, absolutely.

Avocato has never been someone who likes being in the dark, so their current situation has put him seriously on edge for the past few weeks. He doesn't know what to expect in this new environment with a new crew, and the new developments between a certain two have to be the most unexpected parts of this whole thing if he's being honest.

"Hey, Dad?" Little Cato asks, peering his head around the entranceway into the bridge.

"Yes?" Avocato says at the same time as Gary says, "Yeah, buddy?"

The two men look at each other, and Gary flicks his eyes away when he notices the slight annoyance in Avocato's expression. 

The kid doesn't even bat an eye at the very slight tension in the room. "Do you wanna go do something in the arcade?"

Avocato watches as Gary smiles and jumps up, bounding over to the kid to ruffle his hair and smirk. "Oh, you wanna get beat again, little man?"

Little Cato smirks back, crossing his arms, "Oh, you're wrong on that. I'm gonna beat you so good, Thunder Bandit!" Then, he turns towards Avocato. "Dad, you coming?"

The Ventrexian stays silent for a moment, staring at the way Gary's hand naturally sits on top of his son's head and how Little Cato's tail wraps around Gary's leg unconsciously. The two of them interact like they've known each other for years, not the few months that Avocato knows it's been. 

"No thanks," he states plainly.

Little Cato's face falls slightly almost in tandem with Gary's doing the same. "Are you sure?" the human asks, raising an eyebrow. "We could fit a game of cards in?"

He shakes his head. "I'm good."

Gary and Little Cato glance at each other, then together, they walk out of the room. Almost instantly, Avocato can hear their distant excited chatter over what games to play and the two of them playfully egging each other on.

His best friend adopted his son. That's a reasonable thing to do when someone dies, but Avocato is more than alive now. Yes, he asked Gary to take care of him, and he's grateful that his friend took on that responsibility....

But now? There isn't any reason why Gary should still be in that role. 

A blooming anger forces a low growl from Avocato as he ruminates on the bridge.

* * *

Avocato yawns as he walks out of the bridge after his shift, Tribore taking his place. He is so ready to sleep in his room and not think about the floating corpses that he sees every second of the day. 

As he's marching tiredly to his room, he hears some quiet talking in the hallway up ahead. He stops in his tracks and sneaks towards the corner to see who's there. He leans out from his hiding spot, only for Gary and Little Cato to be in his sight.

He freezes in place, watching as Gary cards a hand through the boy's fur. His friend is holding the boy tight to his chest as Little Cato clings to Gary's shirt, trembling fiercely. The shine of tears glisten on the kid's cheeks under the dim light of the ship's hallway, and Avocato frowns.

Little Cato hiccups, burying his head into Gary's stomach miserably. 

"It's okay, bud. Let it all out," Gary soothes. "You're on the Crimson Light with me. We're both alive, and you're not alone. You're safe, okay?"

"I'm–I'm safe," Little Cato tries to say in between sobs.

Gary nods, rubbing the Ventrexian's back. "Yeah, you're safe with me."

The kid takes a few more moments to calm down, then he loosens his grip on Gary's shirt and hugs him instead. 

"Do you know how you got here?" Gary questions softly.

"I had a nightmare about...," his son mumbles too quietly, so Avocato misses what he says. "I woke up and went to get you, then you brought us out here in case I woke anyone up."

Little Cato specifically wanted Gary?

"Good job, can you tell me anything else?" his friend encourages softly.

"I'm fourteen. You're thirty-two. You're real. We're in Final Space."

"There you go!" Gary smiles fondly at the boy. "Feeling more grounded?"

The boy nods, and Gary plants a soft kiss to the top of Little Cato's head. He snuggles into his adoptive dad as Gary starts rambling about something random.

Avocato finally stops his spying, disgruntled that he feels like a stranger over checking into his own son's well being. He glares at the wall across from him and walks away.

The next morning, the only sign that Little Cato was ever upset is the way Gary is extra affectionate towards the kid. Neither of them talk about it.

The anger in Avocato's chest grows.

* * *

The more Gary and his son interact, the more annoyed Avocato is.

He needs to fix this. His relationship with his son was going to be rough to navigate through, and Avocato was well aware of that fact. But this is ridiculous, the kid is with his friend more than his biological father.

Right now, Little Cato is in his room according to the weird girl.

Avocato strides down the hallway, then knocks on the kid's door. Little Cato opens it after a few seconds, and his blank expression turns into excitement when he sees his dad.

"Hey, Dad! What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could do a little father-son bonding," Avocato says, smiling at his son.

The boy lights up, pumping a fist in the air. "Yes! That is tight! I'll go grab Gary!"

Avocato's face scrunches up in confusion, and he grabs his son's shoulder before he can run off. He laughs awkwardly as the kid stops and tilts his head. "I was thinking just the two of us?"

"But...you said father-son bonding?" 

Little Cato's confused expression shockingly resembles Gary's, and he tries to ignore it. 

"Just us today. It'll be just like old times, right?"

His son still looks confused, and maybe even a little worried, but he puts on a smile anyways. "Um, okay. What are we doing?"

Avocato smiles, knowing that his son is going to love this. He leads him to the weapons room and spreads his arms out, gesturing towards the array of guns set out. 

"We're gonna fix these babies up, just like we used to!"

Avocato's ecstatic smile drops when he sees the boredom already on his son's face, but Little Cato scrambles to appear excited when he notices his father looking at him.

"Well," Avocato says, at a loss for words for one of the first times in his life, "Let's, uh, get going!"

They both sit down and begin working in silence. Avocato is content enough with the calm quiet and rudimentary cleaning and replacing of parts. Little Cato, on the other hand, looks like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Hey, that's a GXV-76 over there. You always wanted one of those, so I'll let you deal with that one," Avocato says, knowing that his son will at least enjoy that.

Instead of the expected reaction, his son stiffens as he sees the gun, and he laughs nervously. "You can do that one. I'm kinda over those now, anyways."

"Well, what's your new favorite blaster, then?"

Little Cato shrugs. "Dunno, haven't really thought about it much."

Well, that's new to Avocato. His son not being obsessed with weapons of all kinds? Come to think of it, the gun he uses now is one that he had no interest in previously.

They fall into an awkward silence again. 

"So, uh, what's some stuff you did before all of this?" Avocato tries to ask, hoping he doesn't come off as pushy. 

"Other than trying not to die, a bunch of stuff. Ash taught me how to paint nails. Gary's been giving me homework and stuff since there isn't a school in this area." Little Cato laughs at his own joke. "Oh! Gary and I play this game called—!"

"How about something that doesn't involve Gary?" Avocato cuts in, a little too forcefully. "Something that's just Little Cato."

The young Ventrexian's face falls, the excitement draining from his eyes. He shrugs. "I don't know? Everything's been so hectic lately, and when we were first on the ship, I was with Gary most of the time."

The conversation falls as Avocato's increasing frustration with this bonding activity makes its presence known. This is not going according to plan.

Does Gary really have that much of an influence over his son?

As if the universe just wants to make Avocato's life as difficult as possible, Gary happens to walk by the room. The blond stops as he notices them, bounding into the room with a bright smile on his face. 

"There you two are! I've been looking all over for you!" Avocato doesn't miss how Little Cato brightens like the rising sun when Gary comes. "You two wanna get in on a team squad BS game?"

His son leaps out of his seat, running up and doing a weird handshake with Gary. The two of them laugh when they finish, and Avocato's chest tightens. 

Gary's smile turns towards his best friend, the signature Gary Goodspeed smile that Avocato knows from back when everything made sense.

"What d'you say, buddy? Ready to get beat by me yet again?"

He smiles tightly. "Oh, just you wait, baby. I'll finish this up and be there in a few."

His son nods and bounces out of the room, trailing on Gary's heels to go be with the rest of the crew.

The anger morphs into rage.

* * *

Another night of Little Cato going to Gary for comfort over him, even though they were in the same room at the time.

Little Cato has a panic attack one day, and Gary is the one to calm him down. 

They dance to some music called Loggins.

Little Cato wrestles and spars with Gary. 

Gary ruffles his son's hair. 

Gary plays games around the ship with _his_ son. __

Gary is the first to praise _his son_ when he does something impressive.

Gary and Little Cato.

Gary and his son.

Gary and _his son._

_Gary and his son._

The rage consumes him.

* * *

"Gary, we need to talk about something."

The blond turns around, an open expression on his face. "Yeah? What's up, man?"

Avocato doesn't sit down across from Gary. He stands over him, a deep frown on his face.

"You can stop fathering Little Cato, you know."

Gary's face scrunches in confusion—_just like Little Cato_—as his mouth opens and closes as he tries to process his friend's words. He moves his hands around aimlessly, not knowing how to react.

Finally, he speaks, "What?" Confusion laces his voice.

"I know that you had to do it while I was gone, but now that I'm back, you can step back now, Gary. You don't have to do everything for him anymore," Avocato states.

Gary laughs incredulously. "Avocato, I don't think I can just _stop_ being his dad."

"Yes, you can! It's simple!" he growls in frustration.

Gary stands and stares into Avocato's eyes, searching for something within them. He looks for a solid few seconds, and he steps back when he doesn't find what he's looking for, his face portraying the definition of devastation. 

"You're serious?"

"Yes, why would I joke about this?"

Gary splutters. "Because you sound ridiculous! Do you even know what you're saying?!"

"Gary! Yes! I can parent him on my own, just like it was supposed to be before everything!" Avocato shouts.

"I can't just stop," his friend says sadly. "It'll crush the kid to lose another person."

The Ventrexian waves off his concerns, rolling his eyes. "He's a tough kid, he'll get over it."

Gary crosses his arms, lifting an eyebrow as a challenge. Avocato glares at him in response, not appreciating how Gary has been way too eager to keep his son so far. 

"Do you really know that, Avocato? You haven't been around the kid in over three years; he's not the son you knew anymore," he states calmly. "He–he won't react the way you think he will, trust me, buddy."

Avocato scoffs. "Yeah, the reason why I don't know my own son anymore is because _you_ changed him! He doesn't even care about GXV-76's anymore, and he loves them!"

Gary stops at that. "Is that the yellow gun? With the curved handle?"

He huffs in response, nodding his head as his rage continues to grow. 

His friend groans, burying his head into his hands and then throwing them out with frustration. "He tried to kill himself with that gun! This is why I'm trying to tell you that you don't know anything about him anymore!"

"He what?" Avocato whispers, glaring at Gary in shock. Fury overcomes him as he shouts, "No wonder the boy is so fucked up. The only reason I don't know my son anymore is _because of you_!"

"Avocato—"

"No!" He's seething, his chest rising erratically. "Gary, this is my job, and I don't want you to keep taking my kid away from me!"

Gary's face is white as a ghost, his hands shaking. "I just want to help you guys, that's all. Isn't it better to have more people in the kid's corner? Helping out?"

"Help is fine, but you're not doing that," he growls. "You can't take my son away from me!"

"...Dad?"

Gary and Avocato whip their heads towards the doorway, and there stands Little Cato, Mooncake trailing behind him. The boy's eyes are dilated, fear reflecting across his face.

"What's going on?" Little Cato whispers, his voice shaking.

"Don't worry about it, buddy. It's just a dad to dad conversation," Gary says, somehow managing to sound calm. 

"But—"

Gary smiles encouragingly at the boy, but the kid just keeps looking between Avocato's angry and surprised face and the other man. "It's okay, Spidercat."

Avocato groans, "This is what I'm talking about, you need to stop!"

"Okay, Avocato, this is _clearly_ not the time," Gary tries to reason, and for some reason, he's still so fucking calm. 

"Tell me what's going on," Little Cato pleads, walking up to his dads.

"Buddy, it's fine—"

"No, you two are upset—"

"And I said it's—"

"Tell me, please!"

"Spidercat, not now—"

"Yes, now—"

"Enough!" Avocato roars, silencing them both instantly. Both of their shocked faces—_they look so alike_—turn towards him. "Boy, get the hell out of here!"

Little Cato flinches back at his dad's tone, full of rage and hatred and weeks of pent up emotions, and tears pool in his eyes. Avocato hears gasps from the hallway, and he turns towards the other members of the ship all crowded around the doorway.

His attention is brought back to Gary when the man grabs him by the shoulder, heatedly forcing him to turn around. Avocato's glower drops from his face when he sees one on Gary's, the emotion of pure fury looking wrong and foreign on the generally happy guy's face.

"Don't you _ever_ yell at him like that again," Gary says, quiet and strong like an incoming storm. Avocato notices that Little Cato has moved to stand next to Gary. "This kid is the best thing that will ever happen to either of us, okay? He's my son as much as he is yours, whether you like it or not. If he gets the chance to have more than one parent, I will _never_ take that opportunity away from him."

Little Cato's head whips up to stare at Gary in what looks to be fright, then he stares at Avocato in shock. "You don't want him to be my dad anymore?"

The raw hurt in his son's voice causes Avocato to falter in his rage, pausing momentarily before continuing on his rampage. "You have me now! And all you've been doing is spending time with him over me! I barely know you anymore!"

Little Cato shakes his head, his face absolutely distraught. 

Gary moves to stand slightly in front of his son, something that Avocato cannot let slip from his notice. "Avocato," Gary says calmly. "Come on, man! Let's not fight, you're obviously upset and not thinking straight."

"You stole my son away from me!"

"He didn't steal me," Little Cato says firmly, his voice cracking. It slows his anger. "I want both of you to be my dads!"

_Something_ inside of Avocato—something fierce and powerful and conflicting, that feels almost familiar—sparks. His glare sharpens as he growls, throwing his arms out furiously. A culmination of everything, especially the way his _own son_ is cowering behind the man that stole him away, lights that spark. 

"You would choose him over your own father?!" Avocato screams, guttural and full of rage like the force of a typhoon.

The sound almost echoes, fading into a dead silence. Little Cato and Gary have blank expressions on their faces, but his son's quickly turns into one of horror as he steps out from behind Gary and—

_click_

Avocato is frozen in place, staring down the barrel of a gun that must not have been one that Little Cato tried to commit suicide with, because his son has a gun pointed directly at his chest. Little Cato's face is a mix between terrified and determined, his eyes sharp, yet they almost have the appearance of being empty. The tears shine against his fur where they fall. No one is making a sound or moving, the tension almost tangible.

"Little Cato," Avocato breathes, shocked beyond belief. 

"I'm not letting you shoot him again!" his boy screams, his arms shaking from holding his gun so tight. 

Avocato glances to Gary, who also looks horrified at the kid in front of him. The blond slowly moves to be in front of Avocato, and Little Cato's facial expression stays the same. Gary gently kneels down in front of his son and whispers, "Buddy, it's Gary. Everything's okay, no one is trying to kill anyone."

The boy shakes his head. His eyes remain glossed over. "No no no, he's gonna kill you! He's mad at you and me and he's gonna try to kill us," the kid cries. 

"We're on the Crimson Light. Avocato and I just got into a bit of an argument—," Gary takes this pause to glare at the Ventrexian who's still frozen in his spot. "—that got pretty heated. Something upset you, but everything is fine right now."

Little Cato sobs. "No, he's gonna kill you! He thinks you stole me from him!"

Gary takes in a shaky breath. "No, he doesn't, Spidercat. You can put down the gun."

"But—"

Gary gently places his hands on top of Little Cato's, pushing it down to face the floor when the boy offers no resistance to the motion. The gun clatters to the floor as Little Cato's grip slackens. His eyes focus again, and he starts blinking rapidly through the tears. He glances at the two men in front of him, his eyes widen, then he bursts into sobbing as he falls to the ground. Gary catches him and holds him protectively in his arms, quickly whispering reassurances and comforting words to him.

Avocato steps back, his eyes wide and breath coming fast as everything that has happened comes crashing into clarity. _He did this to his son_. 

"Gary, I—," Avocato starts, but Gary's heated glare shuts him up.

"Don't say a single word right now," he orders, his voice staying scarily calm. 

He stands, picking up Little Cato into his arms and holding the boy's head to his shoulder. He tosses a sideways glance towards Avocato, making the Ventrexian back away from them. As Gary enters the hallway, the crew parting to let him through, a sobbing boy in his arms, he stops.

Everything is silent for several moments other than the sound of crying, then Gary says in a frigid voice, "None of you let him out of here."

He walks away with Little Cato, and Avocato falls to his knees, punching the ground with a shaking fist. 

The rage dies.

* * *

"I don't even think I could possibly tell you how mad I am right now," Gary says, the rage buried within the usually easygoing man making itself clear. 

Avocato doesn't lift his gaze from his hands in his lap as he sits hunched over on a bench.

Gary sighs and slams down in the spot next to him. "If you ever try to do that to Little Cato again, I will not _hesitate_ to snap on you."

"Noted," Avocato says.

The two stay silent as Gary leans back and crosses his arms. Avocato doesn't want to see the anger on Gary's expression because of the guilt swirling viciously inside of him, and his friend's reaction will only make it worse. 

Would Gary even want to be his friend after this?

"I'm sorry."

"You should be."

Avocato wants to voice his need to apologize to his son, but Gary probably knows that and won't let him even near the kid. Honestly, Avocato agrees. He hurt his son badly and his best friend, too. 

A sniffle makes him finally look at Gary, only to see the blond wiping tears away.

He reaches a hand out, maybe for comfort, but retracts it almost immediately. "Gary—"

"I had Ash and Fox hide all of the guns on the ship while Little Cato cried himself to sleep again. I had to tell him that it wasn't his fault that he pulled a gun on his father again," Gary whispers, his voice cracking again. He finally looks at Avocato, and the stress on his face makes Avocato's heart clench. "That it wasn't his fault that you didn't want me to be his dad anymore.

"It doesn't matter if we don't agree on parenting decisions or whatever, Avocato. The kid isn't gonna see it like that. He's been through so much, he can't lose a dad again. I don't care if you don't want me to do it, and I can't blame you for it...but he isn't the son you knew. You have to accept that."

Gary sighs, scrubbing his face tiredly and blinking away stray tears. "What you did to him just now, and in the past, you're gonna have to work hard to earn that trust back."

"What if he doesn't want me back?" Avocato chokes out.

Gary looks him dead in the eyes, complete exhaustion radiating from his body. "You're just going to have to live with it." The human squeezes his shoulder as he stands up, walking towards the entryway. He stalls, his hand holding the wall and his back towards Avocato. "I'll tell you when our son can handle looking at you without feeling immense guilt."

Then he walks away, almost stumbling from how mentally exhausted he has to be.

A large part of his brain knows that Gary will never forgive him for the way he has treated Little Cato, and he deserves that. He may not've had a strong relationship with his boy, but now they're starting from square one. 

A tear slips down his cheek, and he wipes it away with his thumb. 

In the void where rage once burned, regret floods over the ashes.

**Author's Note:**

> :)
> 
> I am so sorry that I hurt you all like this, HOWEVER, you all know that this happening is very likely. so did I have to write pure pain? absolutely.


End file.
